Function controlling apparatus for printing devices



June 7, 1960 o. A. H. HOLSTEIN 2,939,911

FUNCTION CONTROLLING APPARATUS FOR PRINTING DEVICES Filed Nov. 14, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l I 2 6 5 5a 6a 4 1bb Icc Iaa -Icld 7 3c! E lee L f 1 12 V 33 as H m 34 5 19 3 20a 17a 33a 36a 35 H :w-Z

Fig. 1

INVENTOR O. A.H.HOLSTEi N ATTORNEY June 7, 1960 o. A. H. HOLSTEIN 2,939,911

FUNCTION CONTROLLING APPARATUS FOR PRINTING. DEVICES Filed Nov. 14, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 2

INVENTOR QA.H. HOLSTE'IIN BY W ATTORNEY nit FUNCTION CONTROLLING APPARATUS FOR PRINTING DEVICES Otto August Heinrich Holstein, Pforzheim, Germany,

assignor to International Standard Electric Corporation, New York, N.Y., a 'corporation of Delaware Filed NOV. 14, 1955, s81. N 546,738 Claims priority, application Germany Nov. 13, 1954 8 Claims. (Ci; PIS-34) urged members which are arranged around the circumference of a plurality of notched discs so that when aligned notches are presented to a spring urged member, that member falls into the notches and into the path of the stop arm. Substantially the whole circumference of the type wheel may be occupied by type characters, no blank spaces being left corresponding to functions not involving printing a character. Every printing telegraph receiver is provided with code function selectormombers for selecting functions to'be performed by the receiver and not involving the printing of a character such as a paper feed, figure shift, lettershift, alarm bell, etc. These functions are performed in response to a received particular code combination. The prior art printing telegraph receivers of the ring selector type in the case of a -digit code system provided the type Wheel with a32 character peripheral scale with the individual letters and characters angularly positioned around the circumference of the wheel. With the conventional type of system, the type wheel was divided in correspondence to the telegraph code employed as above explained; This meant that the diameter of the type wheel is-dependent upon the number of character divisions required to be carried thereby and the apparatus for scanning the special function levers required a relatively large mass to be moved which meant that the kinetic'energy required to start and stop the type wheel was considerable in amplitude resulting in wear and vibration. It is of course desirable to reduce the mass to be moved and the invention solves a problem in ring selector systems by providing a type wheel with a peripheral division which is not in accordance with the number of possibilities required by the telegraph code employed and by'divorcing the apparatus which operates the said function levers from the ring selector apparatus. The ring selector system and the type wheel may thereby be made smaller in mass because in the case of a fiveunit-code, only 26 character divisions need be catered for and the special functions are completely independent of the type wheel and ring selector.

i It is another object of the invention to reduce the wear of the moving parts at a high operating speed and consequently vibration. In accordance with the invention, the selecting bars which serve to set the selecting rings are provided with additional means for controlling the setting of the special function levers. 1

It isa further object of the invention to provide that the type wheel upon the receipt of a special. function code combination by the receiver remains in its last printing position unmoved by the code combination which calls for the special function. i

The above mentioned and otherfeatures and objects of this invention and the manner of attaining them will a. rent become more apparent and the invention itself will be best understood, by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a side view of an embodiment of my invention, and

Fig. 2 is an end view of a portion of Fig. 1.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, there is shown a ring selector system comprising a series of stop members In to lz, the shown members being representative of a greater number, one corresponding to each character division to be printed. The members In to lz are disposed about the circumference of -a plurality of notched discs laa lee. These discs are each provided with a radially extending nose portion 1 shown more clearly in Fig. 2 by meansof which they are angularly rotated 21 short distance. When the discs laa lee assume predetermined angular positions with respect to each other, a row of aligned corresponding notches cut in the periphery of said discs, permit the movement into the aligned notches by one of the members 1a 12:. In Fig. 2 for instance, member 1m is shown within an aligned row of notches. The depressed member 1m is thereby positioned in the path of the type wheel stop arm 2 which rotates on shaft 3 and serves to halt the rotation of the type wheel 4 at the angular position corresponding to the angular position aboutthe circumferenceof .the discs laa lee. It should be mentioned that the shaft 3 is a splined shaft and that the type wheel 4 is slidable therealong. The shaft 3 is coupled to a source of power, not shown, by means of gear 3a and friction clutches 6 and 6a, respectively.

For setting the discs laa lee there are provided a plurality e f-selecting bars 7 11 shown more clearly in Fig. 2, there being one selecting bar for each code element, each selecting bar being coupled to a different one of said discs laa lee by means of the radially extending portion lfi and each portion cooperates in a complementary slot portion 7a of each selecting bar shown clearly in Fig. 2.

It is the function of each of the selecting bars 7 11 to selectively move its corresponding disc a small angular distance in response to the incoming signal code thereby to align one of the 26 sets of notches in the several discs. I

There is further shown a plurality of function levers l6 19 which extend transversely across one of the edges of the five selecting bars '7 11.. In Fig. 1 function bar 19 is shown raised across the lower edges of the selecting bars 7 11; Each of the selecting bars 7 llare provided with a corresponding series of spaced slots 12 1S and which slots are so arranged that fora particular receivedcode function a corresponding group of the slots is in alignment and one of the function bars may fal within the aligned slots. In the drawing, function bar 17 is shown within the group of slots 13,'it being urged downwardly by its cooperating spring 17a shown clearly in Fig. 1. The selecting .bars 7 11 are further provided with a. lower portion 711 which has extending perpendicularly therefrom, a pin by means of which each selecting bar may be moved in a lateral direction by means which will be later explained. Each selecting bar is also provided with a pair of slots 7d and 72, intermediate the edges of said pairs each adjacent a different endthereof. Extending through the slots 7d and 7e are fixed pins 7] and 7g over which the selecting bars are adapted to'slidelaterally a distance defined by the width of said slots. Cooperating with the selecting bars 7 11 there is provided an aligning member 20 which cooperates .with a special V-slfaped slot 20a which is cut into one edge of each of the select: ing bars.

For selectively moving the selcting bars 7 11 there is shown a plurality of selcetor slides 21 25. The selector slide elements 21 25 (one for each permutable code element) are sequentially positioned either a left hand or right hand position in accordance with the received code and slide on fixedguide pins 25a, which pins cooperate with paired slots 25b cut into the slides 21 25. The means for positioning the slides 21 25 is not shown as it constitutesno part of the invention. In order to sense the position of each of the selector slides, there is provided a rotating cam 26 with which cam follower lever 26a cooperates. The lever 26a is provided with a bent-over end 26b and is pivotally mounted on fixed pivot 260. The spring 26d maintains the lever in camming contact with cam 26. There is further provided an interponent'lever27 to one end of which is pivotally attached a plurality of T levers 28 32, one for each code element. The other end of lever 27 is'pivoted on fixed pivot 26c and is normally urged counter-clockwise by spring 27b. The downwardly protruding ends, 28a, 28b of levers 28 32 are adapted to be lifted selectively by the stepped portions 21a, 21b, of the selector slides 21 25 causing each of the T levers to be rocked on pivot 27a in accordance with the left or right position of its associated selector slide 21 25. In order to permit the positioning of the selector slide elements 21 25, the lever 26a cyclically raises the interponent lever 27 by means of the end 26b under control of cam 26 and against the tension-of spring 27b. I 7 Q I p The selective operation of the slides 21 25 is by means not shown but which are known from the 'prior art, it will be seen that the members 28 32'selectively position the selecting bars 7 11 which in turn cause the selective positioning of their correspondingdiscs laa lee and may cause the actuation of a function lever 12 14 or 19if the received code causes the positioning of the bars so that a row of notches are aligned.

Each of the function levers 16 19 are provided with a working portion which is denoted with the small letter 0. Forinstance, in Fig. 1 the function lever 19 is shown in its entirety, its working portion 190 being shown cooperating with the function interponent member 36 which may be urged downwardly against the tension of its cooperating spring 36a when lever 19 sets within the notches 15 and thereby causing interponent member 36 to be placed in the path of the cam follower lever 37 as it pivots in a clockwise direction around its pivot 37a under urging of its spring 37b, as the cam wheel 37c rides down the hump of cam 38. Member 36 will thus move in the direction of the arrow and the said member can thereby effect the release of a particular special function, e.g.,'-the suppression of the printing of a character. The supression means are not shown and are no part of this invention. Upon the continued rotation of cam 38, the cam follower lever 37 will again ride up the hump of the cam and will pivot in a counterclockwise direction; spring 36a will urge member 36 upward against the portion 1900f function lever 19, as shown. Each of the function levers are also provided with a b portion which portion lies intermediate the ends of the function lever. In Fig. l, for instance, the function lever 17 is shown with its portion 17b in blocking position of the clutch actuating lever 33, the portion 17b, cooperating with the bent over portion 33a of the lever 33. Rotating cam 34 by means of the cam follower lever arm 35 is adapted to cyclically urge clutch actuating lever 33 in a clockwise direction to disengage shaft 3 from the gear 3a thereby -to halt rotation of said shaft each'time the cam 34 completes a revolution; each revolution corresponding to the time required to receive the number of code signal elements required to make up a character. For certain functions it is required to prevent the engagement of the clutch 5,

and the portion 17b on the function lever 17 for instance will act against the portion-33a at the end of lever 33 to prevent the said lever from being urged in a counterclockwise direction by the spring 5a, and thereby preventing re-engagement of the clutch 5. The function levers 16 19 are pivoted on a common pivot 20a.

For resetting anyselected function member after the function has been performed, I provide a unique resetting mechanism clearly shown in Fig. 2 and consisting of a parallelogram lever arrangement of which two sides thereof consist of like members 48 each of which are adapted to centrally pivot about pins "77 and 7g, respectively. Coupled to corresponding end portions of the levers 48, I provide a pair of resetting lever elements 47 and 49. The lowerlever 47 has a length greater than that of upper lever 49 and is adapted to be acted upon at its right hand end by means of a bell crank lever 46 which is pivoted at point 46a and which is normally urged in a counterclockwise direction by spring 46b. The rotating cam 45 acts upon the cam follower 460 to cyclically urge the bell crank lever 46 in a clockwise direction against the tension of spring 46b. When the cam follower 46c falls to the low point of the cam 45, spring 46b will urge lever 46 and the lever 47 in a left hand direction. The lever 47 will cause the levers 48 to swivel in a clockwise direction and thereby both levers 47 and 49 will tend to urge any function lever 16 19 outwardly from any of the slots 12 15. Upon further rotation of the cam 45 the levers 47 and 49 will retract to the position shown in Fig. 2 thereby enabling the resetting of a further function lever.

In the operation of the apparatus the five slides 21 25 are selectively actuated in response to receipt of the vfive elements of a code signal combination in any well-known manner. When the cam roller on the lever arm 26a drops into the cut-out segment of the cam 26, the ends 28a, 28b of the five T levers 28 32 sense the positionsof each of the five slides 21 25 and are rocked to the right or left to correspondingly position the five selecting bars 7 11. Thereby the .five notched selecting disks laa lee are selectively angularly displaced in accordance with the received permutation code element combination.

If the received code is that of a letter or figure, a particular stop member 1a 1z is then permitted to drop into an aligned row of notches on the five disks laa lee in order that after the type wheel shaft 3 has been coupled to the .driving shaft 5, the stop arm 2 will engage the depressed end of the selected stop member 1a lz and arrest the type wheel 4 in the desired angular position for printing the received character. The mechanism for controlling the angular rotation of the type wheel comprising the stop members 1a lz, the selecting disks laa lee and the stop arm 2 and associated driving and clutch mechanism is well-known in type wheel printers and it is not considered necessary to describe it further since it forms no part of my-invention.

vIf the received'code combination corresponds to a function, such as line feed or carriage return, for which it is required that no character is printed but the necessary function is performed by the printer, the five slides 21 25 and the five selecting bars 7 11 will be so positioned that the slots 12 15 are aligned beneath the appropriate function lever, such as 16 or 19, the consequent angular movement of which controls the performance of the required function. The manner in which the functions are controlled by levers l6 and 19' is described above, but this forms no part of the present invention and any of the arrangements customarily used in type wheel and other kinds of teleprinters may be employed.

After the required function has been performed, a cam 45 driven cyclically from the main drive shaft, permits the lever 46 to urge the element 47 of the resetting parallelogram arrangement towards the left, whereby the separation of the members 47 and 49 is increased and any function lever 16 19 which has moved into a series of aligned slots in the selecting bars 7 11 will be moved outwardly to their retracted positions thereby permitting the setting of the bars 7 11 in accordance with the code of the next character or function.

My invention may be applied to a typing reperforator by linking to each selector bar 7 11 a perforating mechanism whose structure and operation will now be explained.

Each selecting bar 7 11 is provided with an end portion 7h 11h into which a pivot member 39 44 is adapted to fit. The pivot members 39 44 are centrally pivotally mounted on pivot 39a and each are coupled at one end to a cam follower member 50 54, respectively. The members 50 54 are adapted to be simultaneously urged upwardly by the rotating cam 55 and those followers 50 54 which have been urged in a right-hand direction by the leftward movement of its associated selecting bar 7 11 will be urged against the lower end of the perforating elements 56 6t) and which act to perforate the tape 61 in known manner.

While I have described above the principles of my invention in connection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of my invention as set forth in the objects thereof and in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a printing telegraph receiver comprising a type wheel bearing type characters, a plurality of disks, each having a plurality of spaced notches around its periphery, a plurality of type wheel stop members positioned around the periphery of said disks and extending transversely across the edges of said disks, a plurality of selecting bars, there being one for each of said disks, each of said bars comprising means for angularly displacing its corresponding disk and each having slots spaced along the edges thereof, a plurality of function controlling levers mounted to extend transversely across the edges of said selecting bars, means for rectilinearly moving said levers in response to received code combinations whereby for each received code combination corresponding to a type character one of said wheel stop members enters into an aligned row of corresponding notches in said disks and for each received code combination corresponding to a function one of said function controlling levers enters into an aligned row of corresponding slots in said selecting bars, and resetting means for resetting said function controlling levers independently of the rectilinear position of said selecting bars.

2. Printing telegraph receiver as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said disks further comprises a radially outwardly extending portion, said selecting bars being rectangularly shaped and slidably mounted, and wherein said means for angularly displacing corresponding disks comprises a slot along an edge of each bar, the outwardly extending portions of said disk being in operative relation with the last mentioned slots in their associated selecting bars, respectively.

3. Printing telegraph receiver as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of said bars is characterized in that it is provided with a plurality of spaced slots along opposite edges thereof, the spacing of the slots in each bar being different from the spacing of the corresponding slots in the other bars, said bars being required to assume a plurality of particular relative positions for alignment of said corresponding slots, each position corresponding to a different function, whereby a different function lever may enter a group of aligned slots for each said particular relative position.

4. Printing telegraph receiver as claimed in claim 3, wherein said resetting means comprises means for urging an operated function lever out of a row of aligned slots.

5. Printing telegraph receiver as claimed in claim 3, wherein said resetting means comprises a parallelogram lever arrangement extending parallel to and adjacent the edges of said bars, and means for distorting said parallelogram arrangement to urge an operated function lever out of said aligned slots.

6. Printing telegraph receiver as claimed in claim 3, wherein each of said bars further comprises a pair of spaced slots intermediate the edges of said bars, each adjacent a different end thereof, a pair of fixed members each extending through a different one of said slots, said bars adaptedto slide along said fixed members a distance defined by the width of said slots.

7. Printing telegraph receiver as claimed in claim 6, wherein said resetting means comprises a parallelogram lever arrangement, two of the levers of said arrangement adapted to pivot on said fixed members.

8. Printing telegraph receiver as claimed in claim 5, wherein said parallelogram lever arrangement further comprises an extension portion coupled to one of said levers, and means to cyclically urge said extension portion in a direction so as to distort said parallelogram.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,148,002 Warburton Feb. 21, 1939 2,161,840 Adams June 13, 1939 2,339,313 Zenner Jan. 18, 1944 2,568,264 Zenner Sept. 18, 1951 2,643,753 Wohlgemuth June 30, 1953 

